We want to buy a 10" tablet for the kids to use. We would like to avoid shelling out c$500+ for a Samsung or iPad, especially given there is a reasonably likelihood the kids will somehow break it.

Can anyone recommend a basic but decent 10" tablet for say under $400?

It will be used for:

1. Netflix

2. Kids games

3. Videos the kids make and play back

4. Youtube.

Low priced tablets have a reputation for being unreliable and we want to avoid a clanger. We have been looking at the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2016 10.1" WiFi White, but are interested if there is a decent lower price alternative.

A few pennies saved now will be regretted later. Get an iPad mini and chuck a damn good case on it. Never had a problem and one of my kids is a walking tornado. If they are old enough you could even get them to chip in some $$$ so they have some personal liability.

Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman, then always be the Batman

We were in Singapore lookin at cases for my wifes laptop. She looked at a case made by some armour company, guy was super confident of it's ability to protect her phone he grabbed one for his s8+ and then 3 times threw it across the room and hard against the ground, and it was fine.

I was pretty impressed, but I won't be doing it. The case was thick and cost $49.

I'd get a second-hand iPad. In my opinion the iPad Air is still perfectly fine, and if you're worried about future proofing, the iPad Air 2 is another option. You can get an iPad Air for around the $300 mark and iPad Air 2 for around $400. The key is finding a good seller, as the TradeMe can be a minefield.

This one is looks to be a good deal. Might need to convince them to ship it though.

The tablet market is an interesting one, really is quite hard to suggest anything 10 inch sub $400, if you look second hand you really are not making a lot of savings either. If you stray too far from Ipad and Samsung then good cases become hard to come by. Check you can get good cases before purchasing!